Mustang Hybrid (S650) Announced, Debuts in 2020

millhouse said:

With that said, we are a long...long...long ways off from mandated fully autonomous. To do so would require making said vehicles affordable on the used market for lower income households.

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We've had this discussion a lot lately among various transportation/traffic engineers in my department. The one thing that we all agree on is that a fully autonomous system is safest and only truly works when everyone is utilizing the technology. There will be a time period when the most dangerous part of this technology will be the fact that human drivers still exist on the roadway.

The reality is that robotic vehicles are incredible at communication and reading the intentions of other robotic vehicles. Human behavior, however, is one of the most unpredictable things in the known universe. An autonomous vehicle can do a very good job at detecting this erratic behavior, but more often than not a collision will still result due to the delay in detection (vs an autonomous vehicle having a failure and instantaneously notifying all other vehicles in the area of this failure and what precautions to take).

So back to the mandatory use of these vehicles - it has to happen. When, we're not sure, but the system doesn't work until then.

As someone who heavily leans to the libertarian side, mandatory anything doesn't sit right with me.

The government could easily say, "You want to drive on publicly funded roads, you must use these vehicles. Can't afford one? Here are a list of services that will come pick you up and bring you to your destination."

We could be entering an age where many drivers (especially those with lesser income) use rental services rather than owning their own vehicle.

Time will tell...

hmmm....

Lorne34 said:

hmmm....

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You might laugh, but the one card that could be played that brings autonomous tech to a halt is the instance where a global alliance puts a complete stop to advancing A.I. tech. It wouldn't stop autonomous vehicles for good, but it would certainly delay it significantly.

Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, and others have come out to say that we need to be incredibly careful with where we take technology. When the freaking founder of Tesla, one of the leading partial autonomous vehicle makers says to be careful, we might want to believe him.

Bravo said:

It's a sad fact that we are driving among a population that is far more interested in their social media feed than the pavement flying beneath their bottom. We live in a world where our cars are constantly becoming safer, and yet the number of auto accidents and fatalities continues to increase annually. The absolute only way that this statistic reverses itself at this point is when we hand over control of our vehicles. Whether we like it or not, it will be the single greatest improvement to the transportation industry since the invention of the automobile itself.

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Yep, very sad to see that the progression of the human race is that they increasingly can't focus enough to drive a car safely by themselves anymore. Looks like the film "Idiocracy" foretells the future rather accurately.

Bravo said:

You might laugh, but the one card that could be played that brings autonomous tech to a halt is the instance where a global alliance puts a complete stop to advancing A.I. tech. It wouldn't stop autonomous vehicles for good, but it would certainly delay it significantly.

Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, and others have come out to say that we need to be incredibly careful with where we take technology. When the freaking founder of Tesla, one of the leading partial autonomous vehicle makers says to be careful, we might want to believe him.

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oh, I'm not laughing.. just having a little fun.. got to keep it light otherwise we can all drive ourselves (no pun intended) crazy with all of this "Futurama Talk" :cheers:

GT Pony said:

Yep, very sad to see that the progression of the human race is that they increasingly can't focus enough to drive a car safely by themselves anymore. Looks like the film "Idiocracy" foretells the future rather accurately.

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i couldn't believe my brother recommended that movie to me, was kinda like wtf is this...and the longer i live, the more of it seems to be coming true lol. sad really

I've said for awhile now that in this lawsuit happy world, I'm really surprised there aren't stricter laws for using the phone while driving(yes, I've done it). i can ride the Yamaha to work and i bet no less than 5-6 people each way just flat out NEVER see me. not. confidence. inspiring.

so from a safety of people driving while facebooking standpoint, i can see robot cars as an option...i just wish there was another way......

jvandy50 said:

i couldn't believe my brother recommended that movie to me, was kinda like wtf is this...and the longer i live, the more of it seems to be coming true lol. sad really

I've said for awhile now that in this lawsuit happy world, I'm really surprised there aren't stricter laws for using the phone while driving(yes, I've done it). i can ride the Yamaha to work and i bet no less than 5-6 people each way just flat out NEVER see me. not. confidence. inspiring.

so from a safety of people driving while facebooking standpoint, i can see robot cars as an option...i just wish there was another way......

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I agree...and the coupe de gras is when the auto makers started advertising built in wifi in the vehicles... great.. now I can surf on my phone while driving and not be using my cellular data......

Over 50 looking at the end of the world ...

Lorne34 said:

I'm on the short track myself now. Just turned 52 and bought my first V8 Mustang Muscle car.. (wanted one since high school). I figure in 10+ years I will be retired and driving my car for enjoyment purposes only. I think the younger generation as a whole views driving as a utilitarian thing and would be much happier staring at their cell phones while something else controls the car..:tsk:.... It will be just like the original road warrior movie ---"The last of the V8 Interceptors"....

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as we knew it. ;)

In the same boat buddy, exactly why I bought my 2017 now. Its the last stand.

:lol:

:cheers:

Bravo said:

I constantly get backlash from the auto community with discussions like this - I really love driving, but to put on tunnel vision and refuse to believe that this is coming is absurd. It's best to embrace it for what it is, and realize that it will change your life, for better and worse.

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Refusal to participate in autonomous vehicle ownership isn't the same as refusal to believe that it's coming. Somewhere I read that if a total change-over was to happen tomorrow, it'd take something like 22 years before the change could be fully implemented. I don't remember if the specific topic was battery-electric vehicles or autonomous vehicles, but I suspect it doesn't matter.

I'm glad that the existence of a few downsides is at least admitted, and FWIW I don't see any useful positives in it for me or my wife. At least not yet (neither of us is ready to buy a family sedan with automatic transmission either). Had our driving records not been what they've been for the last 45 years or so, I might be somewhat more flexible.


Norm

Norm Peterson said:

Refusal to participate in autonomous vehicle ownership isn't the same as refusal to believe that it's coming.

Norm

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Depending on legislation that is enacted to make the system work, those two things would be one in the same. :(

Lorne34 said:

I'm on the short track myself now. Just turned 52 and bought my first V8 Mustang Muscle car.. (wanted one since high school). I figure in 10+ years I will be retired and driving my car for enjoyment purposes only. I think the younger generation as a whole views driving as a utilitarian thing and would be much happier staring at their cell phones while something else controls the car..:tsk:.... It will be just like the original road warrior movie ---"The last of the V8 Interceptors"....

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TomcatDriver said:

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Max about got his arm torn off from that blower belt. :headbonk:

Norm Peterson said:

at least as large as 460 CID (7.5L).


Norm

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Don't forget the 462 MEL's

Bravo said:

Depending on legislation that is enacted to make the system work, those two things would be one in the same. :(

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I'm counting on the lawyers to do what they do, and sue right out of business
this autonomous disaster coming.

Norm Peterson said:

Better still would be a short-stroke Voodoo of around 4.5L. With a proper 0 - 180 - 180 - 0 crank and 4 into 1 exhaust.


Norm

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This here I agree with. Maybe even less cubes and make an ultra high rpm V8, and then incorporate electric motors to fill it with power down low.